health claim critique
Name ___________________________________________
Health Claims Assignment 1 Worksheet
1. What is the health claim? Please include the URL of your article here as well.
Marijuana use linked to schizophrenic-related brain changes.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270262.php
2. Who conducted the study?
Researchers from the Fienburg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Illinois, led my Matthew Smith.
3. What was the sample size?
97 participants
4. Who was the claim tested on?
A group of people in their early 20’s who regularly used marijuana.
5. What was the experimental group?
All subjects who had started using the drug around the age of 16 or 17 and had smoked daily for approximately 3 years, although they had been drug-free for 2 years prior to the study. They also had no history of any other drug abuse.
6. What was the control group?
Healthy controls, subjects with a marijuana use disorder, participants with schizophrenia with no history of substance use disorders, and schizophrenia subjects with a marijuana use disorder.
7. What did the researcher measure?
The researchers measured the link between brain functions and marijuana usage. They also measure the long term affects marijuana has on the brain. They then measured the similarities between mental disorders and the use of marijuana.
8. What are the reasons given for the results of the health claim?
Results of the study revealed that participants who began using marijuana regularly at the age of 16 or 17 demonstrated deterioration in the thalamus of the brain - an area important for learning, memory and communication.
Furthermore, the investigators say the deterioration discovered in the thalamus resembles deterioration found in schizophrenic patients who used marijuana.
Additionally, they note that if a person has a family history of schizophrenia, they could increase their risk of developing the disorder by using
Health Claims Assignment 1 Worksheet
1. What is the health claim? Please include the URL of your article here as well.
Marijuana use linked to schizophrenic-related brain changes.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270262.php
2. Who conducted the study?
Researchers from the Fienburg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Illinois, led my Matthew Smith.
3. What was the sample size?
97 participants
4. Who was the claim tested on?
A group of people in their early 20’s who regularly used marijuana.
5. What was the experimental group?
All subjects who had started using the drug around the age of 16 or 17 and had smoked daily for approximately 3 years, although they had been drug-free for 2 years prior to the study. They also had no history of any other drug abuse.
6. What was the control group?
Healthy controls, subjects with a marijuana use disorder, participants with schizophrenia with no history of substance use disorders, and schizophrenia subjects with a marijuana use disorder.
7. What did the researcher measure?
The researchers measured the link between brain functions and marijuana usage. They also measure the long term affects marijuana has on the brain. They then measured the similarities between mental disorders and the use of marijuana.
8. What are the reasons given for the results of the health claim?
Results of the study revealed that participants who began using marijuana regularly at the age of 16 or 17 demonstrated deterioration in the thalamus of the brain - an area important for learning, memory and communication.
Furthermore, the investigators say the deterioration discovered in the thalamus resembles deterioration found in schizophrenic patients who used marijuana.
Additionally, they note that if a person has a family history of schizophrenia, they could increase their risk of developing the disorder by using